Depression: Exploratory Writing

Phillip Greiner
English 1101: Depressive Exploratory Writing
Rebecca Giddens
February 17, 2009

Depression is a psychological term that is used to describe a physical mood or condition of a person which includes chronic or severe levels of sadness, perceived helplessness, loss of interest and other emotional or personal behaviors. Because of the affects of depression on people that have physical and emotional struggles in life, they never think about the many applications of the word and how it is used in the English language. A geologist uses the term to describe impressions made to a planets’ ground surface and economists use the word to describe increases or decreases for a country or states economy. In either sense, there are many characteristics of the word to describe related contents for each of the definitions listed above.
Psychological depression has no single cause and results from a combination of things. Whatever the cause, it is not just a state of mind but related to physical changes in the brain and connected to an imbalance of a type of chemical that carries signals to your brain and nerves. Some of the common factors involved with psychological depression include family genetics, trauma and stress, low self-esteem or personality, physical conditions and other psychological disorders. No matter the cause, this condition may include mood conditions such as: anger, fear, anxiety, despair, guilt, apathy, grief and personal sadness. This condition is often harmful to the body and can affect proper functioning of the brain which can lead to suicidal tendencies.
Geological depressions are landforms sunken or depressed below the surrounding area and are formed by various mechanics. Some types of depressions are: sediment filled depressions; blowouts which are contributed by wind erosion; impact craters caused from meteors; valleys caused from erosion and oceanic trenches which are created from the earths tectonic plates moving against one another. This type of depression is a means of describing a force or act of being depressed.
In economics, depression is a sustained, long downturn of one or more economies which is similar to what we are experiencing at this present time. Economic signs of depression are characterized by increases in unemployment, restriction of credit, shrinking of investments, bankruptcies, reduced amounts of trade and commerce and price deflation. The term is often used to describe or indicate a deeper sign or more serious recession. In U.S. history, there was a depression during the twenties that lasted for a decade and took government programs and literally, “a war” to bring the economy out of this state. The next time that you get in a sad mood, think about depression and the levels to which the term is used. The psychological state can be categorized at different levels of depression similar to different geological depressions that exist. The economical state of depression can also create different levels of suffrage for individuals and may lead to the psychological condition of depression if economical depressive-effects are felt for an extended period of time.